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The average commercial lasts 30 seconds. Arby's latest is 1,560
times that long.

This Saturday, the sandwich chain aired a 13-hour commercial
on a single television station in Duluth, Minn. The commercial
promotes Arby's brisket sandwich, demonstrating the slow
smoking process behind the menu item. The ad has no dialogue:
just brisket smoking for hours on end, in a manner reminiscent
of Christmas specials of a burning Yule log. The climax occurs
during the conclusion of the 13-hour commercial when the
brisket is removed and assembled into a sandwich.

The ad smashed the previous world record for longest commercial,
which was a mere one hour spot by the Nivea brand.

A live stream of the commercial will be available on Arby's website Wednesday, beginning at 9
a.m. EST. To get people to engage, Arby's will be offering
over $20,000 in cash and prizes over the course of the live
stream for online viewers.

Unlike typical commercials, Arby's goal isn't to get people's
eyes on the screen. Few individuals -- even those in Duluth who
had access to the original airing of the commercial -- could be
expected to tune in for 13 hours straight. Instead, the sandwich
chain hopes to gander social-media buzz from people talking about
the record and the weirdness of a 13-hour commercial. If fans of
the ad take to social media, Arby's doesn't need potential
customers to see the ad -- it just needs them to see their
friends' Twitter feeds.

The commercial was produced by Fallon, a full-service advertising
agency with headquarters in Minneapolis and offices in London and
Tokyo. You may have recognized some of their work including the
fan favorite Cadbury Gorilla ad, the agency taking TIME
Magazine's iconic red border and using it in
innovative ways and United Airlines "It's Time to Fly," which
used Oscar-nominated animators. They also
happened to be involved in McDonald's major flop: The Arch Deluxe, along with Holiday Inn's
"Bob Johnson" commercial, one that
featured a transgender woman.

Only time will tell if this social experiment will be a total hit
or get completely roasted.